Destiny 2: The Final Shape [PS4/PS5/XB1/XBS/PC] - Y8, The Dark Age Returns

[Demosthenes]

It's all my fault. I started my PhD in October of last year and my playtime plummeted from a couple of hours a day to like 45 mins or so every 2 weeks now. I was the one carrying the entire company.

[Karbuncle]

That's literally how unvested shares work, across every industry. They're a standard part of compensation/bonus packages. They vest over a term to encourage you to stay with the company. If you leave the company for any reason, including termination, before they vest, you don't get them. It's why I never take any part of my bonus every year in shares even though I'd be saving a lot on taxes if I did.

Yeah, I know, glad you see why firing them shortly after the merge was kinda uncool of them, granted, thats just how these things are. Can't exactly properly time an 8% Staff layoff because your flagship game performed 45% below expectations I suppose.

Also as for your previous benefits question, according to what I've seen, I think the biggest "issue" was expense reimbursement, but who knows the exact value on that.

[Serra]

https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status...47269156458656

That 45% number is wild. The layoffs definitely suck, but if your main product for the year underperforms by that much, that's just... yikes.......

It's all my fault. I started my PhD in October of last year and my playtime plummeted from a couple of hours a day to like 45 mins or so every 2 weeks now. I was the one carrying the entire company.

I just hit 200 on my pass for the first time since the last six month season, so apparently my time means nothing to them!

[Obsidian]

You have to consider how many companies are currently laying off swathes of people due to missed projections that were based on spending habits from the last 3 years where everyone was locked inside.

Based on Steam population tracking the game is at very least no worse off than this point last year in terms of player count. Sentiment may have been (very justifiably) poor after Lightfall's campaign, but the seasons themselves have done well to hold on to people (and have been pretty good overall IMO, even if I didn't play much of Deep).

[Karbuncle]

Yah It’s clear their projections were grossly overestimated. It’s still a little crazy how wildly it missed by and theoretically how many companies don’t seem to grasp that Covid growth was not a normal sustainable pattern?

[Qalbert]

https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/ourpathforward

[Kaslo]

I found it. The shittiest take.

[Demosthenes]

Not giving that kind of idiocy a view.

[Obsidian]

I let it play for 30 seconds just so the algorithm would count my thumbs down.

[Serra]

You have to consider how many companies are currently laying off swathes of people due to missed projections that were based on spending habits from the last 3 years where everyone was locked inside.

Based on Steam population tracking the game is at very least no worse off than this point last year in terms of player count. Sentiment may have been (very justifiably) poor after Lightfall's campaign, but the seasons themselves have done well to hold on to people (and have been pretty good overall IMO, even if I didn't play much of Deep).

I meant to respond earlier, and also prefacing this by admitting I know next to nothing about Bungie's corporate structure.

If I'm not mistaken, Lightfall had the highest preorder numbers of any expansion, so I'm curious to know how much of those projections missing the target were the result of miscalculating how many of those new players would stick around versus the players who picked up the game but did not engage with the live service aspects of the game.

I've been following the discourse intermittently while traveling this weekend, and one thing I noticed was how the community seems to be firmly placing the blame on the execs, not the devs. I know it's easy to blame the faceless corporate executives who only care about nickel-and-diming players, but they weren't the ones who wrote the story of Lightfall and dropped the ball going into the game's final act. Definitely agree that the seasons have been really good this year (and last), and Bungie has been doing some cool experimentation this year with the seasonal activities (deck building this season, rouge-like elements last season), but if your entry point was Lightfall, I understand not sticking around and experiencing any of that -- and that falls on the devs, not the execs. Personally, none of the monetization decisions affected my playtime, it was the change in gameplay over the last two years that made me engage less.

[6souls]

I meant to respond earlier, and also prefacing this by admitting I know next to nothing about Bungie's corporate structure.

If I'm not mistaken, Lightfall had the highest preorder numbers of any expansion, so I'm curious to know how much of those projections missing the target were the result of miscalculating how many of those new players would stick around versus the players who picked up the game but did not engage with the live service aspects of the game.

I've been following the discourse intermittently while traveling this weekend, and one thing I noticed was how the community seems to be firmly placing the blame on the execs, not the devs. I know it's easy to blame the faceless corporate executives who only care about nickel-and-diming players, but they weren't the ones who wrote the story of Lightfall and dropped the ball going into the game's final act. Definitely agree that the seasons have been really good this year (and last), and Bungie has been doing some cool experimentation this year with the seasonal activities (deck building this season, rouge-like elements last season), but if your entry point was Lightfall, I understand not sticking around and experiencing any of that -- and that falls on the devs, not the execs. Personally, none of the monetization decisions affected my playtime, it was the change in gameplay over the last two years that made me engage less.

Shill Up, Cross, Datto, and Byf had a discussion about this. Apparently there was some QoL and decisions for new content that was developed, but corporate wouldn't allow it to be added.

[Serra]

Do you have a timestamp? I'm not opposed to listening to 3 hours, but...... >.>;

[6souls]

Do you have a timestamp? I'm not opposed to listening to 3 hours, but...... >.>;

It's the first segment after the intro.

[Qalbert]

Not going to link bc spoilers but there was a final Imbaru thing with a cutscene and some rewards and they announced the name of next season on twitter

[Takiwaki]

Not going to link bc spoilers but there was a final Imbaru thing with a cutscene and some rewards and they announced the name of next season on twitter

lol on twitter really?

[Qalbert]

All their social accounts, I assume, but I think they could've given people a day or two to do it or saved for TWAB. probably trying to get positive sentiment going.

[Serra]

That last cutscene..

Spoiler: show

[Serra]

Having listened to the podcast (but not read the Tassi article they mention -- although the fact they don't mention any specifics makes me think he doesn't either), without knowing what the changes they wanted to implement were and not knowing how they would have landed, it's hard for me to say, yes, corporate deserves the the blame for the game underperforming over the devs.

When we talk about the layoffs, the impact those will have, and everything else around them, that's a different conversation, but in terms of the game itself, specifically in regards to the mess that surrounded Lightfall, I don't think the devs should be coming out of this as free of blame as they appear to be.

[Qalbert]

new Prime loot:

[Serra]

Weekly update has some pretty substantial improvements for PvP:
https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Art...-destiny-11-09

- Changes to the director (the back and forth continues and they're upping the number of nodes again).
- Comp sounds like it is moving closer to using rank-based matchmaking.
- Competitive focusing (maybe I'll finally get the snapshot/opening shot Mercurial that I've been chasing..).